The four buildings it is acquiring are 1708 N. Shoreline Blvd.,1010 and 1015 Joaquin Road and 1058 Huff Road. Together they totalabout 240,000 square feet. While Google did not disclose the selleror the price, all of the addresses listed as belonging to AlzaCorp., which was acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 2001. Alzaannounced last year that it would be downsizing.

The four buildings are located immediately south and east ofGoogle's headquarters at 1600 Amphitheater Pkwy. Three of the fourbuildings on the sublease market--2375 Garcia Ave., 2350 BayshoreParkway and 1500 Salado Drive--are located only slightly furtheraway to the West of Google's headquarters. The fourth building onthe sublease market is 395 Page Mill Road in Palo Alto.

Google spokesperson Andrew Pederson tells GlobeSt.com that aspart of the company's aggressive growth over the past several yearsit leased a substantial amount of extra square footage to ensurethat facilities would be able to keep pace with sustained growthand hiring. With regard to the sublease space, he says that as thecompany focuses on making the most efficient use of the space ithas "consolidating Googlers into existing offices and subleasingless conveniently located space makes much more sense than buildingout new areas."